Page 13 of Last Resort

Chance glared at her from his chair. “You don’t know the first thing about being in the field.”

“So, train her, Chance.” Luke leaned forward across the table so that Chance’s attention was forced onto him. “She’s already more tactically aware than most civilians. She’s smart and self-reliant. Give her some physical defense lessons—quick and dirty basics—and let’s do this.”

Chance turned to Weston, who, in normal form, hadn’t yet said anything. “Will you please help me get them to see reason?”

Weston studied Maci for a long moment, then looked back at Chance. The two of them were super close. “I get why you’re worried. Maci is part of the family, and we don’t like the thought of any family member in potential harm’s way.”

Hearing Weston say she was part of the family warmed something inside Maci. Chance turned to her, and for a moment she was afraid he was going to blow the whistle on her. To explain that, since she’d snuck out of his bed in the middle of the night two months ago, maybefamilydidn’t apply to her.

But if anything, Chance’s gaze was more protective. More possessive. More...everything.

The warmth she’d felt ratcheted up to a full heat.

“It’s the best plan we’ve come up with yet,” Brax said. “Let’s at least keep it on the table while we continue looking at other options.”

Chance finally looked away from her and nodded. “Okay. But if we send her out, we’re going to damn well make sure she’s safe.”

All three brothers offered their agreement.

“Stella always has some sort of bodyguards around, right?” Luke asked.

Chance let out a small sigh, as if he knew he’d already lost this battle. “Yes. She has at least three nearby at all times.”

“Great,” Luke said. “So, we ship the original Stella off on an international vacation, so she’s out of any danger.”

Weston nodded. “And also so we can control the situation more. We can send our new Stella only to events that we can have a greater measure of control over.”

Brax grinned. “Plus, Maci isn’t spoiled like Stella. She’s an asset, not a liability. Especially will be after some defense training and running potential scenarios so she knows what to look out for.”

“Fine,” Chance said finally. That one word was low and gritty, like it was painful for him to speak at all. Maci’s stomach swooped deliciously at the sound, and she inwardly cursed her body for responding to it. “I’ll agree to this plan if you take at least three days of self-defense training with me. I’ll also be with you every step of the way when you’re undercover.”

Maci’s eyes widened. Staying in close confines with Chance day after day? That wasn’t going to be easy. “I’m sure I could learn the basics from anyone. You don’t have to do it all yourself.”

“They’ve all got people waiting for them at home. You and I are the single ones of the bunch. That makes us the best people for an undercover job like this. It’s me, or we scrap the plan altogether.”

Chance’s smile was tight. He knew she was stuck. She would always agree to anything that let the others go home to their families, but she was also desperate for a reason for her and Chance not to be alone. She had to preserve the distance between them.

She knew how easily that distance could disappear.

“What do you say, Maci?” Chance finally said. “Are you ready to work together?”

Anyone could see that he was waiting for her to say no, but she wasn’t going to do it. “I’m sure it’ll be a blast.”

“Oh, there will be a blast somewhere,” Luke muttered. Brax and Weston laughed under their breaths while Chance watched and waited. He wanted a real answer, and she could tell he wasn’t going to leave without it.

Maci was simultaneously ecstatic and panicked, but she shoved it all down. Nothing else mattered but finishing the job. She had to help Stella get her life back before something—or someone—wrecked it forever.

She stared into Chance’s brown eyes. “I’m in.”

Maci felt like she’d just signed her soul to the devil but had no idea why.

ASMACICLOSEDup the office later that afternoon, she still couldn’t believe the guys had agreed to her plan. She hadn’t seen any of them for most of the day. They’d been too busy going over the plan with LeBlanc’s security team, working on the details of getting Stella out of the country and narrowing down the social events where Maci would take Stella’s place.

Maci was really going to do it. She was going to take an active part in capturing a stalker and making a young woman safe again. Maybe it could even count as penance for some of her own past sins.

If only that was the way it worked.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she locked the door to the office and drove to the popular Thai restaurant down the street from her place to grab the order she’d put in. A big bowl of noodle soup and too many appetizers sounded like the perfect dinner to celebrate becoming an undercover super-agent.

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